US20080289235A1 - Advertising receptacle - Google Patents

Abstract

A receptacle may include a container to receive trash and other items. The receptacle may also include a display area to provide advertisements to people located in the vicinity of the receptacle.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• The invention relates generally to advertising and, more particularly, to advertising using receptacles.
DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART
• Advertising has become an increasingly important mechanism for businesses to reach potential customers. For example, print advertising and online advertising have become common ways for businesses to reach potential customers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Reference is made to the attached drawings, wherein elements having the same reference number designation may represent like elements throughout.
• FIG. 1 is a diagram of an exemplary system in which methods and systems described herein may be implemented;
• FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating components of the receptacle ofFIG. 1 according to an exemplary implementation;
• FIGS. 2C and 2D are diagrams illustrating components of the receptacle ofFIG. 1 according to another exemplary implementation;
• FIG. 3 is a functional diagram of the receptacle ofFIG. 1 according to an exemplary implementation;
• FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary processing by components in the system ofFIG. 1;
• FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating exemplary displays provided by the receptacle ofFIG. 1; and
• FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating processing associated with revenue sharing consistent with an exemplary implementation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
• The following detailed description of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawings identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detailed description does not limit the invention. Instead, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents.
• Implementations described herein provide dual purpose receptacles. The receptacles may be used as containers for trash, cigarette butts and other items. The receptacles may also be used to display advertisements. In one implementation, the receptacles may be placed outside establishments where people typically congregate to smoke. In an exemplary implementation, revenue associated with the advertising provided via a receptacle may be shared by the owner of the receptacle and the owner of the establishment where the receptacle is located.
Exemplary System
• FIG. 1 is a diagram of anexemplary system100 in which methods and systems described herein may be implemented.System100 may includereceptacle110,ad server120 andnetwork130. The exemplary configuration illustrated inFIG. 1 is provided for simplicity. It should be understood that a typical system may include more or fewer devices than illustrated inFIG. 1. In addition, other devices that facilitate communications between the various entities illustrated inFIG. 1 may also be included insystem100.
• Receptacle110 may include any type of device that is used to dispose of various items (e.g., trash, cigarette butts, cigar butts, etc.) and also is able to display advertisements. In an exemplary implementation,receptacle110 may be a device capable of transmitting and receiving data (e.g., voice, text, images, multi-media data) to/fromnetwork130. For example,receptacle110 may receive and display advertisements (also referred to herein as “ads”) received fromad server120 vianetwork130. In an exemplary implementation,receptacle110 may communicate withad server120 overnetwork130 via wired, wireless or optical connections.
• Ad server120 may include one or more servers and/or computing devices that provide advertisements to various entities insystem100. For example,ad server120 may provide advertisements to receptacle110 vianetwork130.
• Network130 may include one or more networks, such as a cellular network, a satellite network, the Internet, a telephone network, such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN), or another type of network. In an exemplary implementation,network130 includes a cellular network that uses components for transmitting data to and fromreceptacles110 via wireless links. Such components may include base station antennas (not shown) that transmit and receive data from communication devices within their vicinity. Such components may also include base stations (not shown) that connect to the base station antennas and communicate with other devices, such as switches and routers (not shown) in accordance with known techniques.
• FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating components ofreceptacle110 ofFIG. 1 according to an exemplary implementation. Aspects of the invention are described herein in the context of a receptacle that provides advertisements and also acts as a receptacle to dispose of, for example, trash, cigarette butts, etc. It should also be understood that systems and methods described herein may also be implemented in other devices that allow users to dispose of trash, cigarette butts, etc., with or without including various other communication functionality. For example,receptacle110 may be a receptacle for trash that does not include various communication functionality for communicating with other devices, such asad server120.
• Referring toFIG. 2,receptacle110 may includebase210,display220,internal container230 andtop240. Other components, such as a hanger portion (not shown) may be used to affixreceptacle110 to a building, post, etc. In other implementations,receptacle110 may be freestanding.
• Base210 may protect the components ofreceptacle110 from outside elements.Base210 may include a lower portion that houses display220. Top240 may includeneck242,upper portion244 and opening246. Neck242 may fit overbase210 and be connected tointernal container230.Neck242 may also be connected toupper portion244, which may be round or oval shaped, as illustrated inFIG. 2A.Upper portion244 may include anopening246 used to deposit trash item inreceptacle110 such that materials deposited in opening246 fall intocontainer230. That is, opening246 may be an opening for users to deposit cigarette butts, trash, etc., intointernal container230.
• Display220 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) based display or another type of display that may provide visual information. For example,display220 may visually display advertisements provided fromad server120.Display220 may also display other information, such as the current time, downloaded content (e.g., news or other information), etc. In alternative implementations,display220 may be an area onreceptacle110 where conventional print advertising (e.g., advertising on paper, cardboard, plastic, etc.) may be mounted and displayed.
• Display220 may be protected from exterior elements by hard plastic or a glass covering. It should also be noted that in some instances,receptacle110 may include a display, such asdisplay220 on two or more sides ofreceptacle110. Each display may display the same information.
• Internal container230, shown via dotted lines inFIG. 2A may be a container that is located withinhousing210. The top portion ofinternal container230 may be coupled to or located adjacent toneck242 and/oropening246 to receive cigarette butts, cigar butts, trash, etc.FIG. 2B illustratesinternal container230 in more detail. As illustrated inFIG. 2B,internal container230 may be cone-shaped.Internal container230 may be formed of metal, ceramic, another material or a combination of materials. In other implementations,internal container230 may have other shapes. In addition, in other implementations, other types of internal container devices may be used.
• For example,FIGS. 2C and 2D are diagrams illustrating components of the receptacle ofFIG. 1 according to another exemplary implementation. Referring toFIG. 2C, receptacle may includebase210,display220 and top240. These components may be similar to the components described inFIG. 2A.Receptacle110 may also includechute250 and pan260, illustrated by the dotted lines inFIG. 2C. In one implementation,chute250 may be part oftop240. As illustrated inFIG. 2C,chute250 connects toneck242 andopening246 inupper portion244 to receive trash, cigarette butts, etc. An opening at the bottom ofchute250 may be connected to or locatedadjacent pan260, as illustrated in FIG.2D. Trash deposited inopening246 may travel downchute250 and end up inpan260.Chute250 and pan260 may be formed of metal, ceramic, another material or a combination of materials.
• Receptacle110 may include other components (not shown). For example,receptacle110 may include one or more control buttons that permit an operator/user to interact withreceptacle110 to causereceptacle110 to perform one or more operations, such as display an advertisement, provide tracking information associated with advertisements provided viadisplay220, etc. One or more control buttons may also controls various settings associated withdisplay220, such as a brightness setting. In addition, a speaker (not shown) may be included inreceptacle110. For example, a speaker may be used to audibly output advertisements or other information to people in the vicinity ofreceptacle110.
• FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating functional components ofreceptacle110 according to an exemplary implementation.Receptacle110 may includebus310,processor320,memory330,storage device340,power supply350,input device360,output device370 andcommunication interface380.Bus310 permits communication among the components ofreceptacle110. One skilled in the art would recognize thatreceptacle110 may be configured in a number of other ways and may include other or different elements. For example,receptacle110 may include one or more modulators, demodulators, encoders, decoders, etc., for processing data.
• Processor320 may include a processor, microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA) or the like.Processor320 may execute software instructions/programs or data structures to control operation ofreceptacle110.
• Memory330 may include a random access memory (RAM) or another type of dynamic storage device that stores information and instructions for execution byprocessor320; a read only memory (ROM) or another type of static storage device that stores static information and instructions for use byprocessor320; a flash memory (e.g., an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)) device for storing information and instructions.Memory330 may also be used to store temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions byprocessor320. Instructions used byprocessor320 may also, or alternatively, be stored in another type of computer-readable medium accessible byprocessor320. A computer-readable medium may include one or more memory devices and/or carrier waves.
• Storage device340 may include some type of magnetic or optical recording medium and its corresponding drive. In an exemplary implementation,storage device340 may be used to store advertisements.
• Power supply350 may include one or more batteries or other power source components used to supply power to components ofreceptacle110. In some implementations,receptacle110 may plug into a conventional power outlet topower receptacle110.
• Input device360 may include mechanisms that permit an operator to input information toreceptacle110, such as a microphone, control buttons, a keyboard, a mouse, a pen, voice recognition and/or biometric mechanisms, etc.Input device360 may also include a universal serial bus (USB) port, a disk drive (e.g., a compact disk (CD) drive) for receiving input, such as input from another computer device or input via a memory stick or CD.
• Output device370 may include one or more mechanisms that output information to the user, including a display, such asdisplay220, a printer, one or more speakers, etc.
• Communication interface380 may include any transceiver-like mechanism that enablesreceptacle110 to communicate with other devices and/or systems. For example,communication interface380 may include a modem or an Ethernet interface to a LAN.Communication interface380 may also include mechanisms for communicating via a network, such as a wireless network. For example,communication interface380 may include one or more radio frequency (RF) transmitters, receivers and/or transceivers and one or more antennas for transmitting and receiving RF data vianetwork130.
• Receptacle110 may provide a platform for displaying advertisements.Receptacle110 may perform these operations in response toprocessor320 executing sequences of instructions contained in a computer-readable medium, such asmemory330. Such instructions may be read intomemory330 from another computer-readable medium via, for example,communication interface380. A computer-readable medium may include one or more memory devices and/or carrier waves. In alternative embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used in place of or in combination with software instructions to implement processes consistent with the invention. Thus, implementations described herein are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software.
Exemplary Processing
• FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary processing by elements insystem100, such asreceptacle110 andad server120 for providing advertisements viadisplay220. Processing may begin withad server120 sending an advertisement to receptacle110 (act410).Receptacle110 may receive the advertisement and optionally store the advertisement in memory, such as storage device340 (act420).Receptacle110 may then output the advertisement via display220 (act430).
• As an example, assume thatreceptacle110 is located outside a restaurant or a bar where smoking is prohibited. In this case, patrons may gather outside the restaurant/bar to smoke.Ad server120 may provide ads that are relevant to the location wherereceptacle110 is being used. For example,ad server120 may provide an advertisement to receptacle110 for an establishment, such as a jewelry store, located on the same block as the restaurant/bar wherereceptacle110 is located.Receptacle110 may receive the ad and display the ad viadisplay220, as illustrated inFIG. 5A.
• Alternatively,ad server120 may provide other ads to receptacle110 that may be relevant to patrons located outside the restaurant/bar wherereceptacle110 is located. For example,ad server120 may provide an ad for a cab company.Receptacle110 may receive the ad and display the ad viadisplay220, as illustrated inFIG. 5B.
• In other instances,ad server120 may provide ads to receptacle110 based on the time of day. For example,ad server120 may provide ads, such as the one illustrated inFIG. 5B late at night, as opposed to early in the morning.Ad server120 may also provide ads based on the location wherereceptacle110 is located. For example,ad server120 may provide ads for alcoholic beverages ifreceptacle110 is located outside a bar or restaurant. Ifreceptacle110 is located outside an office where workers may congregate on breaks,ad server120 may provide ads associated with lunch spots in the vicinity/neighborhood.
• In the implementations described above,ad server120 has been described as providing ads toreceptacle110. In other instances, ads may be pre-stored onreceptacle110, such as instorage device340. New ads may be provided via insertion of, for example, a memory stick, a CD, etc., to receptacle110, may be downloaded from a computer or memory device via a USB port located onreceptacle110 or may be provided via another conventional mechanism. In this case,processor320 may output various ads to display220 based on time of day, location of receptacle and/or any other combination of factors.
• In still other implementations, advertisements provided viareceptacle110 may be print advertisements. For example, ads provided via paper, cardboard, plastic, etc., may be mounted on or provided viadisplay area220 ofreceptacle110.
• In each case, ads provided or output viadisplay220 may be relevant and useful topatrons using receptacle110 to discard cigarette butts, trash, etc., or patrons who are just congregating nearreceptacle110. In some instances,receptacle110 may output audible advertisements via a speaker included inreceptacle110. In each case, people located nearreceptacle110 may usereceptacle110 to discard trash, such as by placing items in opening246 (FIGS. 2A and 2C), and to also view and/or listen to advertisements output, for example, viadisplay220.
• Receptacle110 may also track ads output via receptacle110 (act440). For example,receptacle110 may track the number of times an ad was displayed over a period of time, the total amount of time an ad was displayed over the period of time, etc. This information may be used for billing related purposes, as described in more detail below.
• FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating exemplary processing associated with sharing advertising related revenue consistent with an exemplary implementation. Processing may begin with the owner ofreceptacle110 contracting with an advertiser to display ads (act610). The contract between the advertiser and the owner ofreceptacle110 may define how much the advertiser will pay the owner ofreceptacle110 for displaying the ad. The payment may be based on, for example, how many times the ad is displayed over the course of a period of time (e.g., a day, week, month, etc.). The payment may also be based on the time of the day that the ad is displayed. For example, an ad displayed in the evening hours outside a non-smoking restaurant or bar where more smokers are likely to congregate may be valued more highly than an ad provided outside the restaurant/bar in the morning.
• The payment may further be based on the location ofreceptacle110. For example, areceptacle110 located on a busy street with a lot of foot traffic or outside a popular restaurant/bar may be more highly valued that areceptacle110 located in a more remote location.
• In some implementations,receptacle110 may be configured to count the number of patrons located in the vicinity ofreceptacle110. For example, an electronic sensor located inreceptacle110 may be able to provide an estimate of people passing byreceptacle110 in a period of time, such as a period of time in which a particular advertisement is displayed. Such a sensor may be similar to an occupancy sensor in a room that detects movement or may be a more sophisticated sensor that is able to distinguish people from other moving objects, such as vehicles passing by. In other implementations, the sensor may sense when a person deposits trash inreceptacle110. In this manner,receptacle110 may track foot traffic over a period of time (e.g., an hour) in front ofreceptacle110 and/or number ofpersons using receptacle110 over a period of time. This information may be used to provide an estimate of how many people viewed an ad provided byreceptacle110.
• As an example, assume that the owner ofreceptacle110 has contracted with a local jewelry store (e.g., HPC Jewelry Designs) to display ads for the jewelry store. Further assume thatreceptacle110 tracks information associated with the display of the ad (act620). For example, processor320 (FIG. 3) may track for each ad how many times the ad was displayed during of a period of time, such as a single day, week, month, etc.Processor320 may also track the duration of time that the ad was displayed for each occurrence of the ad, times of day the ad was displayed, such as the particular time (e.g., 11:00 PM) or a period of time (late evening).Processor320 may also track the total cumulative amount of time that the particular ad was displayed over the period of time.Processor320 may further determine an estimate of foot traffic associated with the location ofreceptacle110 and/or the number ofpersons using receptacle110 over the periods of time when the ad was displayed. The amount of foot traffic and/or the number of users ofreceptacle110 may be used to determine the amount of money an advertiser will pay for each ad. For example, if foot traffic/use ofreceptacle110 is heavy when an ad is displayed, the advertiser may pay more money for that ad than for an ad displayed when foot traffic/use ofreceptacle110 is lower.
• Receptacle110 may then automatically calculate payment associated with the ad based on the previously agreed upon contract between the jewelry store and the owner of receptacle110 (act630).Receptacle110 may also automatically generate a bill for the jewelry store. In some instances,receptacle110 may send the bill electronically to a destination associated with the jewelry store. The bill may include detailed information regarding how many times the ad was displayed, when the ad was displayed, the total duration of time the ad was displayed, etc. In this manner,receptacle110 may display ads, track adds and generate billing information.
• In some cases, the owner ofreceptacle110 may not be the owner of the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located. In this case, the owner ofreceptacle110 may also contract with the owner of the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located to allowreceptacle110 to be placed in front of the establishment (act640). For example, to entice owners of businesses to allowreceptacles110 to be provided outside their places of business, the owner ofreceptacle110 and a business establishment may agree to share revenue from advertisers that display ads viareceptacle110. The owner ofreceptacle110 and an establishment where areceptacle110 is located may split the revenue equally or may split the revenue based on any other agreed upon percentage (e.g., 90/10, 70/30, 60/40, 30/70, etc.).
• Receptacle110 may then automatically calculate payment to be provided to the owner of the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located (act650). The owner ofreceptacle110 may then provide payment to the owner of the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located (act660). In some instances, the advertiser (e.g., HPC Jewelry Designs, Tony's Cab Company, etc.) may directly pay the owner of the establishment and the owner ofreceptacle110.
• In some implementations, the owner of the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located may receive all or a portion of his/her “payment” in the form of free advertising viareceptacle110. For example, the owner of the establishment may be given advertising time/space that may be provided viareceptacle110 at no cost or at a reduced cost. These advertisements may advertise particular sales/specials associated with the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located and may change over time. In still other implementations, a portion of the “payment” to the owner of the establishment may be in the form of emptyingreceptacle110 on a regular basis. For example, the owner ofreceptacle110 may emptyreceptacle110 on a regular basis, as opposed to the owner of the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located being responsible for emptyingreceptacle110.
• In each case, payment (e.g., monetary or non-monetary) to the owner of the establishment wherereceptacle110 is located provides additional enticement to the owner of the establishment to allow placement ofreceptacle110. Therefore,receptacle110 serves the purpose of keeping the area aroundreceptacle110 trash free by acting as a place to deposit cigarette butts, trash, etc., and also provides advertisements to a captive audience, such as smokers congregating outside a non-smoking establishment.
Conclusion
• Implementations consistent with the aspects described herein provide a dual purpose device that is used for receiving trash, cigarette butts, etc., and also for providing advertisements. In addition, by providing revenue sharing arrangements, more widespread deployment of receptacles is possible.
• The foregoing description of the embodiments of the invention provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention.
• For example, aspects described herein focus on receptacles that receive cigarette butts and other trash. In other implementations, more conventional trash containers, such as trash containers similar to those found on a typical city street, may be modified to include displays to provide advertisements.
• In addition, in some instances, receptacles may provide other information to users. For example, the time, temperature and news information may be provided bydisplay220 and/or output via a speaker included onreceptacle110. In still other instances,receptacle110 may dispense coupons associated with ads provided byreceptacle110. For example,receptacle110 may dispense a discount coupon for a drink at the establishment, may provide a discount coupon for a cab company that advertises viareceptacle110, etc.
• Further, while series of acts have been described with respect toFIGS. 4 and 6, the order of the acts may be varied in other implementations consistent with the invention. Moreover, non-dependent acts may be performed in parallel.
• It will also be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that aspects of the invention, as described above, may be implemented in, for example, computer devices, cellular communication devices/systems, methods, and/or computer program products. Accordingly, the present invention may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.). Furthermore, aspects of the invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. The actual software code or specialized control hardware used to implement aspects consistent with the principles of the invention is not limiting of the invention. Thus, the operation and behavior of the aspects were described without reference to the specific software code—it being understood that one of ordinary skill in the art would be able to design software and control hardware to implement the aspects based on the description herein.
• Further, certain portions of the invention may be implemented as “logic” that performs one or more functions. This logic may include hardware, such as a processor, a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit or a field programmable gate array, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
• No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the present application should be construed as critical or essential to the invention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended, the term “one” or similar language is used. Further, the phrase “based on,” as used herein is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise.
• The scope of the invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (16)

1. A method, comprising:

providing an advertisement on a receptacle that is used to receive trash or cigarette butts;

determining how many times or how long the advertisement was provided over a period of time; and

generating billing information based on the determining and previously agreed upon billing parameters.

2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the receptacle is located outside a business establishment, the method further comprising:

providing a portion of the revenue associated with the advertisement to the business establishment.

3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the receptacle is located outside a business establishment, the method further comprising:

providing free advertisement to the business establishment via the receptacle.

4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

storing a plurality of advertisements associated with a plurality of advertisers in the receptacle.

5. The method ofclaim 4, further comprising:

automatically outputting the advertisements via a display based on at least one of time of day or a location associated with the receptacle.

6. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

providing advertisements to the receptacle via a wireless network.

7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the generating billing information comprises:

estimating foot traffic or customer use of the receptacle over a period of time when the advertisement was displayed; and

using the estimated foot traffic or customer use to determine how much to charge the advertiser.

8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the providing an advertisement comprises providing a multi-media advertisement.

9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the providing an advertisement comprises providing a print advertisement.

10. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising:

providing coupons via the receptacle.

11. A receptacle, comprising:

an external housing;

an internal container to receive trash or cigarette butts; and

a display area configured to display advertisements.

12. The receptacle ofclaim 11, further comprising:

a memory configured to store a plurality of advertisements associated with a plurality of advertisers.

13. The receptacle ofclaim 12, further comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) receiver configured to receive advertisements via a network.

14. The receptacle ofclaim 13, further comprising:

logic configured to:

track advertisements provided by the receptacle, and

generate billing information associated with the advertisements.

15. The receptacle ofclaim 14, wherein the logic is further configured to:

generate revenue sharing information associated with a business establishment where the receptacle is located.

16. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions which, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to:

display advertisements via a display connected to a trash receptacle;

track how many times the advertisement has been displayed;

generate billing information associated with the advertisement; and

determine an amount of money to be provided to an establishment where the trash receptacle is located.

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